Drummer Cafe Community Forum

I was given a drumset awhile back, unfortunately its a no namer made by Peace. I think basicly everything but my snare sounds pretty cheap and to high, normaly lots of ringing too.

Ive had a few other people try to tune(not experts but better than me) and they havnt had alot of luck either.

Is there anything i can do to them?

The heads im sure are cheap but id hate to replace them since i dont know if the shells themselves are crap(making the head useless since the new drum shell id have to get would HAVE to be some other size lol, its how things work with me...).

Im sure this has been asked alot, but i really do belive this is past the normal tuning stage where you just need patience.

Thanks

You say you'd hate to change the heads but to me it would be the best option....

Check the flatness of the edges by placing the bare shells upon a surface you know to be reasonably flat.  If they rock, they are naturally off and need a redoing of the bearing edge.  Also look for nicks on the edges, which can be filled in with good success.

Does a drumhead fit well on it?  If the head spins without any real resistance, it might not be out-of-round; at least, not significantly so.

Immediately, however, I'm thinking it may just be the stock heads (which are notorious for being low-quality); change them stat.

Buy new heads - top and bottom.

Pro quality heads will make even a pretty crappy shell sound pretty good, and these days, even pretty crappy shells are pretty well made.

And that's pretty much the most times I could come up with to use "pretty" in a single sentence.

Yup-put new good quality heads on the drums-and go over the drums to tighten any lug screws that may be loose, check the bearing edges for flat, uniform condition.  If you are new to drumming and are finding difficulty in tuning, perhaps buy a drum dial to aid in tuning.  As a new drummer (if you are) a tuning aid such as a drum dial will relieve you of alot of tuning frustration.  Another thing you can do after re-heading is to tune the kit and have a friend strike the drums while you are in front of the kit.......

You're right as in the sheels might be bad (not saying anything :-*), but heads do count. Lots of times if heads get stretched or cracked or losened, the quality of the drumm goes down. Best idea, get new heads.

If you are undecided about whether to replace the kit or not, just buy new heads for you smallest rack tom. Tune it up and see if you like the results. Then decide whether to buy a new kit or rehead the rest of the existing kit.

I agree pretty much with what Mr. A. said. ;D
(Sorry Keith I couldn't resist)

I have personal experience with replacing the heads on a Peace snare drum owned by fellow DC'er dl,

Tremendous difference in sound after putting an Aquarian Satin Texture coated batter and Classic Clear snare side head on it(replacing the low grade stock heads). Of course it needed to be tuned up -which I have experience with  - so that may be a factor in getting it to sound good.

Buy the Aquarian Snare Drum Tuneup kit (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=perc/search/detail/base_pid/444600/) and you'll get the heads at a discount as well as a free video and instructions on how to tune a drum.

I think you'd do well to try one or two drums like rca said and see. I think a good drum sound is very doable.

Jim